By Joe Haggerty | Comments Off on Ted Donato can see the power of the ‘B’

In honor of the first of two excellent Beanpot Mondays here at the TD Banknorth Garden, we thought we’d get a quick Bruins thought from Harvard head hockey coach Ted Donato, who scored 119 goals and 147 assists during portions of 9 seasons proudly wearing the Spoked B on his chest before retiring in 2003-04.

Harvard dropped a thrilling 4-3 game to Boston University in the early game Monday evening, but the Crimsom flashed the same kind of heart and work ethic that the overachieving 5-foot-10, 180-pound Donato brought to the ice with him on a nightly basis.

Donato clearly has his finger on the pulse of all things hockey in the Boston area, and says that he’s easily noticing the effect that the Bruins’ resurgence is having in hockey talk and puck participation among the youth levels all around New England.

“People are talking about the Bruins around the offices and the water coolers, so to speak. And it’s exciting for them to be successful, but they’re just a fun team to watch,” said Donato, who had 6 goals and 5 assists in 2003-04 for the Black and Gold before retiring to take on coaching duties with the Crimson. “They score goals, they skate, they play physical. It’s really been a great transition and it’s something that — with the Internet, the replays and all of the computers out there — I think kids playing hockey in the area are really beginning to appreciate what the Bruins are doing.”

Quoting Donato also gives me a good excuse to drop a little NHL ’94 greatness into the Pucks with Haggs galaxy, as this is the only thing that pops on youtube when you enter Ted Donato into the search field. Makes me pine for the days when I used to skate the unmatchable Theo Fleury and his Calgary Flames for my dominant runs to the Cyber Cup. Enjoy: